Fawzia Mirza is a Pakistani-Canadian film and television actress, writer, producer and comedian. She is known for her works such as web series Kim Kardashian, Brown Girl Problems and the film Signature Move (2017).[1][2]

Mirza majored in English and political science in college, and then went to law school. After two years working as a lawyer, she changed professions to become an actor.[5] She has focused on projects relating to the LGBT community, particularly relating to being a queer Muslim woman,[5][6] “to gain visibility for women and brown performers, and find space for queer stories”.[7]

Her one-woman show Me, My Mom and Sharmila explores growing up queer and South Asian;[8][9] in 2015 she performed it at the International Theatre Festival at the National College of Arts in Lahore.[6][10] Also in 2015, she appeared in Emmy-nominated Her Story,[11] a six-part series on the lives of trans and queer women.[12]

In 2016, she announced her film Signature Move (2017) alongside Shabana Azmi and also introduced herself as a lesbian on Twitter. Fawzia co-wrote, co-produced and starred in the movie and won many awards all over the world, including Best Narrative Film at Columbus International, Best Director and Best Actress at Out San Diego, Audience Award for Best Narrative in Connecticut, and Mirza won a Jury prize at the Canadian South Asian Mosaic Film Festival.[15]

She tweeted “I’m a lesbian, Muslim, Pakistani, actor, activist, writer, producer, lawyer & creature of passion,” Many people criticized her and said that you can’t be a Muslim and a lesbian at the same time. However people also supported her. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy tweeted in favor of her.[16]